Puskas stadium plan scaled back

Budapest, May 20 (MTI) – Plans for the construction of the new Puskas stadium in Budapest will be downsized and simplified as they were too risky and costly, daily Nepszabadsag said on Wednesday, citing government commissioner for the project Balazs Furjes.

Using the original plans, the 100 billion forints (EUR 327m) allocated for the development would have only covered two-thirds of the cost, Furjes said.

The basic idea of building a new stadium around the old one has not changed, but now the stadium will be dedicated to football, while facilities for most other sports and services will not be constructed, he added.

The stadium must be completed by 2018. Bids for construction are expected to be called in the autumn.